Brett Wilkin – The Road to Pro Status
We meet up with IFBB Pro Brett Wilkin. Brett lives in Denver, Colorado where he runs a successful training business together with his wife.
Tell us about your training background I was a 4 sport athlete in high school. I played college football in Iowa. I got my degree in science and physical education and graduated playing football. I didn't want to play semi pro or arena football so I focused more on lifting and gaining strength and was lifting for fun. Then I met my wife (Ivana) when I was 25 and she basically taught me how to eat for bodybuilding. I was eating 3 meals a day and she directed me towards more hardcore and structured bodybuilding. Do you follow anyone's training philosophies? My wife and I are really good friends with John Meadows and I have built my own training philosophies from watching John Meadows and Flex Lewis.
How did you decide to compete in a physique sport? For the first couple of years I didn't think about competing. I traveled with my wife and went to the Arnold and Olympia. Then we started getting more involved with clients and I started developing a better physique so I figured I would really turn it on and see what I could do. How was your first competition experience? I competed in Iowa and won everything. The judges recommended I'd go to Jr. Nationals as my second contest. I was really really close to turning Pro and that's when I realized I could be really really good at it. How did you end up in Denver, CO? I went on to win the overall in 2018 at the Jr. Nationals and that's when Ivana started working with Dillon Armbrust for coaching. We went out there (Denver, CO) for 5 days and absolutely loved it. We actually loved Colorado so much and everything else involving Denver that we never looked back. Not only are we really growing and taking advantage of the gym but also really soaking up and taking advantage of all the sights, environment and everything that Colorado has to offer.
What is your next competition goal? This last year is when I switched to bodybuilding I went from 190 to 240 lbs. I figured I would just to continue to develop and honor my physique. Now I am competing at 212 and I'm really growing into it. I am a little tall for the division (5'9") so I took a break from competing so that I can just go full blown into the open class.